Deep Ties

  “Letting go isn’t giving up. It’s growing wiser.” Sharmila Sengupta’s book titled ‘You Win When You Don’t Play’ is replete with little life lessons on how to make space for grace to enter. There are so many pithy quotes that help the reader to loosen control over stress and pressure, all with simple examples to drive home the point. The author talks about boundaries that are not walls but doors to be opened to let peace in. It is vital to stay true to oneself and believe in the power of faith rather than force. “It’s about learning to trust the spaces in between – the unseen, the unplanned, the unforced.” She also waxes eloquent on the strength hidden in stillness, and offers various practices to realign and restructure life. Peace arrives when one finally pauses, breathes meaningfully, repeats affirmations and practises laughing. This book is, indeed, a whisper in one’s ear that offers lessons on calming, reflecting, softening and letting life flow. ‘The mind says, “Keep...

  Unsplash           There was a time when stories like the Iliad and the Odyssey were told in great length, as were our great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Life meandered along at a leisurely pace, and a story could be embellished according to the storyteller’s imagination. Today, due to paucity of time, and the vast reading material accessible to the reader, a story must grab the eyeballs, and do it quickly!                                                                                                        Kobo                                             ...

“Your haemoglobin levels are at 5.8! How are you even walking?” The doctor looked at me as though I was a specimen under a microscope, which I probably was, given that the normal Hb levels for a human being range from 9 to 14, or so.             Very Well Health      I had to wax eloquent on my menstrual history from when I was eleven, when mom told me all about periods and what I would have to expect. Of course, the deluge started at a time when I least expected it. I was travelling by train with a rather conservative uncle and aunt. The result was downright embarrassing, and I got out, red-faced, and unwilling to ever talk about it. Till now!                 Those were the days when women were expected to be Carefree without Whisper.   When friends doubled over with cramps and moaned that their world was coming to an end, I waltzed about, wondering what all the fuss was about. Mom had definite ...

  Amazon.in "What's life without a little drama and lots of laughs?" asks Lalitha Ramanathan, the author of Parenting Unplugged - The Drama Mama Diaries. This book, which houses a collection of conversations a mother has with her little human, focuses on humour for the harried mother's soul. As the author puts it, "Parenting has been an adventure beyond my wildest dreams." Right from the moment a little dragon was born, (the parents lived in Singapore), and even before... from a tiny blob on the screen to a little human who resembled her father, there is a sense of fun that weaves through the entire narrative. With humorous asides that pepper all 20 chapters, the author pinpoints her experiences as a parent, taking the readers over a whirlwind of activities at each stage of her daughter's life. The book spans across the mother-daughter relationship, capturing cameos of sweet innocence, temperamental moments, sleep deprivation, the home-career balance...

  “ My son took my car and crashed it. I had no idea that he had the keys with him.” “My husband refuses to wear a helmet.” “Don’t drink and drive! Easier said than done!” Excuses, excuses all the way! Excuses that can often lead to irreversible physical or mental damage, or even a fatality. Every year, the maximum number of deaths are caused by road accidents, claim the statistics. Families are torn apart, and when nominal fines are levied, the offenders pay up and then do the same thing again or try bribes to escape the law. On August 9 th , 2019, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act was published in the Gazette. The axe fell on September 1 st , 2019, when all fines relating to road rules violations went through the roof. Protests spread across the country, leading to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Sri. Nitin Gadkari, softening the blow by announcing that each state could choose its quantum of fines.               ...

  Amazon.in When I was a little girl, my Army dad was posted in Delhi, and I remember living in a bungalow that had several large rooms. In the peak of summer, however, we would place our cots outside in the spacious garden, with mosquito nets and a table lamp that would reflect the stars above. Those memories have stayed with me, and some days, I still hear my mother’s voice, narrating stories to me in the languor of the night. After a while, the sonorous sound of her beautiful narration, and the buzzing of the insects beyond the mosquito net would lull me to sleep. Three stories I recall distinctly – The Count of Monte Cristo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Rip Van Winkle. I loved these stories and wanted more of them… the suspense, the mystery and the unforgettable themes entered deep into my heart, and lodged there, till the day I began to write my own stories. Little wonder that I prefer to be called a thriller writer, and have my quartet of ‘Shadow’ stories to back up my p...